The Doll Who Simply Exists
by Kagetsuki Tsukishiro
Summary: Three years after Uchiha Sasuke defects from Konoha, Uzumaki Naruto disappears. Where is the blond? What is he hiding? Who is Uzumaki Naruto?


Summary: Three and a half years after Uchiha Naruto defects Konoha, Uzumaki Naruto's existence has been lost to the people of Konoha. Kyuubi had been forgotten and the blond had seemingly disappeared. Eight years after his defection, Uchiha Sasuke discovered the identity of Kage Kitsune, the one who had killed Orochimaru.

Where is the blond? What is he hiding? Who _is _Uzumaki Naruto?

Pairing: Hints of ItaNaru with one-sided SasuNaru.

**Disclaimer: Methinks that the last time I checked… the Naruto series belonged to one Masahi Kishimoto. No. I don't own the series or any hot dudes in it.**

**Warning: Steal this plotline and DIE! Or you could just _ask_. _Asking _works… unless I don't like you.**

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_The Doll Who Simply Exists_

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A blond man stood facing a raven-haired one in the middle of a forest. The trickling sound of water moving down the stream could be heard as both of them ensued a staring competition. The faint rustling of the leaves caused by the sudden rise of the in the winds joined into the faint trickling making some type of music that was a gift of nature.

Onyx black eyes bore straight into cerulean blue ones with such ferocious intensity that was only returned with a bored, nonchalant and indifferent look. It was amazing as to how the tables would turn after so many years.

Years back, the raven-haired Uchiha would be the one who was giving the nonchalant look, the stoic face. Now, he was the one who had to chase after the blond. The blond had, no doubt, gotten a lot stronger. Stronger than he could ever dream of become. He,_ the _Uchiha Sasuke, who was born to be an avenger, could not surpass the blond who used to be the dobe. The weakest link in the group. Hell, he could not even _find_ his brother, much less, attempt to kill him. There was simply no news about the older Uchiha.

"Naruto," hissed Sasuke. The blond simply raised an eyebrow as if to say, 'Yes. I know it's my name. So?'

Why did he care so much? Why did he, who was an Uchiha care so much about a boy whose parents remained unknown even after so many years? Why is it that even after he had achieved power… it _still _wasn't enough?

He was now the Otokage, the leader of the Oto nins who were trying to gain stability after the demise of Orochimaru by the hands of one Uzumaki Naruto, leader of all ANBU Squads of Konoha who was also known by the codename of Kage Kitsune. Yes, Uzumaki Naruto was t_he_ Shadow Fox.

Of course, in the beginning, Sasuke had not known that the Kitsune was none other than the Naruto he knew but he had heard from his informant that the Kitsune had golden blonde hair. No one else in Konoha had sun-kissed hair like Naruto did. He smiled bitterly. Had his spy not been lucky to catch the Kitsune only when he was leaving and was not in the mood to fight, he would not have known that it was Naruto and he would have lost one of his jounins.

The Kitsune was, after all, one who preferred going in and out of the battlefield quickly and silently. No one but his victims saw him and no one ever lived to tell the tale. Sasuke had sent people to check out the scene of the massacred nukenin base that was located somewhere near Kumogakure or the Lightning Country. His informants came back pale when they reported it to him. _All _of them had been killed with one hit. One action of sliding a blade through the nerve that killed the sense of pain. It was done to everyone. All three hundred and eighty one members of the organisation. No one was spared. None of them had a look of surprise or pain or anything that closely resembled a negative emotion. It had all been done so swiftly that no one realised it… except the supposed leader of the base. The one who had went into the Leader's room came out sickly with the intense urge to vomit. The Leader's head had been cleanly cut off after his body had been mutilated. His heart had been ripped out and lay beside the decapitated body in its own small pool of blood beside the immense amount of red liquid that the body released.

They were ninja. They were the elite of Otogakure and they couldn't stand seeing something like that. It was terrifying and it made a great blow to their self-esteem. One shinobi from Konoha had done that, all by himself. How many nin from Oto would it take to make such a clean kill without any casualties? Was it even possible?

"May I know the reason for your presence here within Konoha's territory?" asked Naruto. His tone was indifferent, formal even. It was nothing he had expected. He had expected the blond, _his _blond to immediately demand his return to Konoha where the pink nuisance was waiting for him.

But no, he had not expected indifference from the blond whom he, could not help but admit, loved and lusted for. The silky long blond hair that was tied up into a high ponytail fluttered about in the wind causing Sasuke to want to reach out to caress the long golden strands. To see whether it was as silky as it looked.

"I was… wandering about," said Sasuke, lamely. The blond simply raised another eyebrow.

"It would do you good to remain within your own territories. Or do your shinobi not care for their leader?" asked Naruto in the same tone that made Sasuke twitch.

He had wanted news about the blond but none of his informants could offer him any. Orochimaru's spies had been weeded out from the Village of the Leaves within the month of his demise. The blond had gone from a secret life to an extremely hidden one many years ago. There was no news about him or talk about his furry friend. It was, as if, Konoha had forgotten the existence of Uzumaki Naruto and the Kyuubi. There was the random rumour of the Yondaime coming back to life, which Sasuke had immediately thrown aside with a 'very-unlike-a-Kage' snort.

Now he couldn't help but see the truth in that rumour. The only thing that remained of the blond he had known eight years back were the cerulean blue eyes that had not changed. Had not changed _much _that is. It was not the warm summer's sky blue he remembered. It was a blue that was void of emotions, bordering on cold. It was, if anything, still _blue. _It was then Sasuke knew that he should stop lying to himself. No longer was there the spiky golden hair that seemingly defied gravity. Now, there was long silky hair of the same colour, flowing like the water of the stream beside them.

He had always thought of Naruto as the tanned and wild type but here the blond stood in total contrast of his imagination. He had pale skin and showed nothing but a piercingly calm and frosty demeanour that unnerved the Uchiha. His frame was lithe and just by looking at him, one would think that he was unable of hurting a fly. But he was, in reality, the deadliest man alive. The blond he had known was short being only 4 feet 9 inches. Now, the blond that stood before him was tall. Taller than Sasuke himself and could rival the frog hermit in height. There was not a hint of the whisker-like scars on his cheeks. Where they once were, only flawless pale skin could be found.

There was not a single speck of orange in sight. The ANBU, though not in his uniform, wore completely black. It was a simple black shirt that stuck to his body like second skin and long black trousers that were baggy. He wore a simple red haori-like coat that hid the two katanas at his waist. No longer was there the loud usuratonkachi dobe that he had known. In his place was a silent killer. An assassin that could easily kill him without him noticing it. a shinobi who could wipe out his entire village without a single drop of sweat or remorse.

Sasuke fought back the urge to lash out at the blond as he realised the hidden words beneath the indifferent words that escaped the blonde's cherry lips. '_Incompetent fools. Not even capable of protecting their equally foolish kage who had 'wandered' into enemy territories.' _He, Kage Kitsune, had no qualms about killing one of the last Uchiha who happened to be leading Otogakure, Konoha's enemy.

Sasuke frowned at this thought. Where had the Naruto he had known gone to? Had he really known Naruto at all?

"Can't I come for a friendly visit to an ex-team-mate?" asked Sasuke who struggled to keep his tone nonchalant. Apparently he was not successful as Naruto's lips were pulled into a straight line. The blond was, he decided, more perceptive than he gave him credit for.

"You are an enemy, Uchiha Sasuke," said Naruto, "A potential threat to the well-being of Konohagakure and the Fire Country. You should leave before I am to take action against your… _trespassing."_ Sasuke winced mentally. He had, once again, caught the hidden message. '_Leave or I will kill you in the most painful way possible and rid the world of another annoying pest.'_ His blond had gotten really subtle and it took him quite some time to decipher the blonde's hidden messages behind his _casual _words.

"How is Sakura?" asked Sasuke attempting to make small talk with the blond.

"She is well," said the blond. Sasuke winced at the frosty tone that the blond had used. '_She is well off without you interfering in her life. Foolish man. Thinking that she would wait for you after your betrayal. Disgusting.'_

Sasuke wants to leap out and pin the blond onto the ground. To admit that he had feelings, not for Sakura but for him. Though he had the eerie suspicion that the blond knew. The blond was too perceptive for his own good. The Uchiha swallowed the urge to do that and maintained the stoic façade even though it took a lot of concentration.

"You _will _leave, Otokage," said Naruto as he fingered the golden hilt of one of the katanas that hung off his waist. '_Or I will not spare you any mercy. I have given you a chance and you will be smart to take it. I am not in the mood to stain my hands with your worthless blood.'_ Sasuke's eyes narrowed grimly at that. he finally nodded and left the valley leaving nothing behind but a swirl of leaves.

Naruto continued gazing at the spot where his ex-team-mate once stood. He felt somewhat _hurt_. Strangely, he did. He had come to embrace the hollow feeling within him in the past few years. When Sasuke first left, he was depressed. He had, after all, been betrayed by the first person his age that he had come to trust. Three years with Jiraiya made him realise the truth. He was never seen as a person. He was just a tool that no one in Konohagakure could actually appreciate. He was a sword that was meant to be thrown when it became either too sharp or too dull.

When he returned, he saw the truth more than ever. Everyone wanted something from him. He only had so much to give without breaking up. He was human. He couldn't continuously give without receiving.

His thoughts and feelings were strengthened after the Sasuke retrieval mission he had taken with the pink haired kunoichi, Sakura, the member of the Roots, Sai and their replacement Team leader, Yamato. He had never felt so hurt before. Not only had Sasuke destroyed all hope within him, Sakura had destroyed whatever feeling remained within the blonde's broken soul, abusing him for being unable to stop the Uchiha. Screaming at him for being so useless even after three years.

He was nothing but a mere doll now. A doll that killed. A doll that did what he had to, to thrive, to exist. He stopped living only to continue existing. Because days after his return from that particular mission, his existence as Uzumaki Naruto had gone down the drain. He had disappeared from everyone's lives literally by joining the ANBU forces where he worked directly under Tsunade and Jiraiya.

He trained like a fanatic cultist. He worked day and night with minimal amounts of rest and maximum output of energy. He worked until he became nothing short of the best. He became the elite among the elite, easily rivalling the strength of the sannin as well as the Kage of other villages.

His presence, his very existence was lost to Konoha. No one knew _who _the Kage Kitsune was. They knew that he existed. They _knew _the he performed the hardest, most difficult missions by himself without fail and would return only with minimal wounds. He was strong, very strong but his identity remained as a secret as he would never remove his mask when he was among people. Even his hood would remain up, hiding his hair colour from the people, his subordinates. A select few knew of his presence. They knew that he was alive, well, barely alive but he was still _breathing_.

The blond sighed before he turned away from the spot where the raven-haired Kage once stood. He kneeled beside the stream, dipping his hand into the water and watched ripples form in the cool liquid that seemed to wash away the blood that he could not see. The blood that stained his hands like a dye. He pulled out his hand and let the water drip back into the stream.

It was a clear liquid but in his mind's eye, he saw nothing but the thick red blood that would normally coat his sword at the end of a mission. He sighed again. It was tiring to have to even _see _the Uchiha 'avenger'. It constantly reminded him how foolish his dreams used to be. To be a Hokage. Yes, it would be an honour to receive that title… but alas; it was merely a title.

A title now meant nothing to him.

Look, even _Sasuke _could be a Kage and he had not done a sliver of good in his entire life of twenty-one years. The blond sat down and looked up at the sky. The clouds were extra puffy that day and the sun was ominously bright. He lay down on the soft grass. Sasuke had seen him and had recognised him. Maybe the raven-haired shinobi knew _what _he really was. Maybe that one nin he had been too tired and lazy to slay had been one of Oto's informants. He sighed. Would the Uchiha announce it to the world?

A bitter smile formed on the blonde's lips as he recalled the few years he had lived in solitude. He had, most definitely, enjoyed it but he had uncovered too many secrets. Secrets that he had not wanted to know.

Secrets that now burdened him as he and the few who know had been sworn to secrecy.

The Uchiha massacre was not a crime. It was that simple. Itachi had been suffering for thirteen years for the crime that his family had committed. Thirteen years of life, being chased by foreign hunter-nin and ANBU who wanted nothing but his blood.

Konoha had, surprisingly, never sent hunter-nin and ANBU after the Uchiha because the Hokage had never made such a decree. They had been _forbidden _to chase after one Uchiha Itachi. Itachi who had sacrificed so much for the village. He had sacrificed so much for the Yondaime's legacy. He had to hold so much guilt. He had to watch his brother attempt to kill him. He had to do so much but he could never get anything back. In many ways, he was similar to the blond. They had both suffered so much. They had suffered _too _much.

Naruto was brought out of his musings as he sensed someone familiar approach. Warm arms embraced the blonde's lithe figure that had not even flinched at the touch. He had _allowed _the person to walk in past his barriers. He entertained a sentence that seemingly fit in to his earlier thoughts. '_And they found solace in each other's arms.' _The only person who made him feel that he was more than a doll. He was human.

"Itachi," said the blond without even turning back to look at the older Uchiha.

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I was **musing **during my trials. Fairly dangerous to do that during an exam but well worth it. It's a one-shot but a potential prologue for an ongoing story **if **I feel like it… or I get hit with the almighty train of ideas. I know that it's not much. Being only 2,672 words. But I believe that it's fairly good. (In other words… I _like _it.)

_Kagetsuki Tsukishiro._

Questions if any… will be answered in a Forum that I will be creating for this fanfic.


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